


la mascotte inattendue

by Zyxyz



Category: Persona 5, Persona Series
Genre: Alternate Universe, Drabble Collection, Gen, Humor
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-21
Updated: 2017-09-21
Packaged: 2019-01-01 06:44:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 825
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12150909
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zyxyz/pseuds/Zyxyz
Summary: There’s a whole kingdom of animals out there; who said a Phantom Thief had to be limited to just one form? (Or, AUs where Morgana looks like a different animal instead of a cat.)





	1. Bos taurus

**Author's Note:**

> Written in response to this PKM prompt: “AU where everything is the same but Morgana is in a different animal shape (ie, dog instead of a cat) and Akira struggles to explain why he has a small dog/rabbit/parrot/whatever in his bag to people.”

They were about halfway through Kamoshida's Palace when Joker asked the question.

"Mona, you've been a phantom thief for a while now, right? Have you been here in the Metaverse this whole time, or can you go between it and the real world like us? It would be easier to strategize if we didn't have to come here every time we wanted to talk to you."

The thief in question turned towards Joker with a downcast expression, the bell tied to his neck jingling sadly. "Well, yeah, I can go to the real world, but... The form I take over there really isn't as suited to thievery as this one. I try to avoid it."

"C'mon, can't you try it just once? We're teammates, we should be friends outside the Metaverse too!"

"Well, if it's for Lady Ann... Very well, I'll accompany you to the exit this time."

——

The blacks and reds of the Palace faded out, and the familiar school faded back into view. Here were the Phantom Thieves, hidden in a corner behind the courtyard, checking their numbers now that they were back in their regular outfits—oh, there's Akira, Ryuji, Ann, and...

And...

"Dude, seriously?!"

"I told you I wouldn't be able to hang around here in this form!" Morgana hissed. Well, as much as it could sound like a hiss, for what was really more of a _mooooo_.

Akira supposed he should've seen it coming. With that cute black-and-white patched fur, and the tiny horns on top of his head in the Metaverse that weren't so tiny now, and the _literal cowbell_... But still, how were they supposed to hide the presence of a teammate that was bigger than they were and looked just like the source of a future Big Bang Burger?

(Not too well, it turned out. Akira eventually ended up back in the Velvet Room, accepting Igor's offer to go back to the start of the journey and try not to die this time, but all the while insisting that he got "a more practical mascot" the next time around.)


	2. Rattus norvegicus

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the incoming italics/emdash overload, lol. The Palace section ended up being too short to stand on its own, and without a real ending, but I felt that I had to address it somehow if I was going to be making a rodent chapter, so you get a chapter and a half this time!

_Squeak, squeak._

Sudou sighed as he tried his best to pay attention to Mr. Hiruta’s lecture rather than the annoying sound. Was Takahashi-san’s chair acting up _again_? But wait, the noise sounded more like it was coming from in front of him, rather than from his right like it’d be if it were Takahashi…

_Squeak, squeak._

There it was again! Sudou glanced at the desk in front of him—it belonged to that transfer student, Karasu or whatever—and almost couldn’t believe what he saw. Was that a _mouse_ in probably-Karasu-kun’s desk? On second thought, given its size, it looked more like a rat… Maybe he had just had one too many Mad Bulls today and started seeing things. As unbelievable as the rumors going around about the transfer student were, surely he wouldn’t go so far as to secretly bring a pet to class, right?

_Squeak squeak squeak!_

Okay, it was definitely the Mad Bulls. When the rat squeaked this time, Karasu-kun appeared to start _talking_ to it, muttering something that sounded kind of like “Not now, Morgana”. Sudou had heard that lab rats could be pretty smart, but not that smart! And besides, bringing an animal into the classroom was just weird, and probably unsanitary too! He’d just have to convince this troublemaker to leave the rat at home before any of the teachers noticed it, one way or another.

(It was a few days later that Sudou finally built up the courage to confront the transfer student—whose name was actually _Kurusu_ , it turned out—but after receiving a lecture about how domestic rats were very clean, actually, and “Morgana” was very well-behaved anyway, he somehow found himself dropping the issue. Who knew the supposed delinquent could be such a convincing speaker?)

——

_[bonus:]_

Oracle paused at the entrance of the room in the starboard hallway of Shido’s cruise ship Palace, seeming to notice something. “Oh. Hold on a sec, you guys.” But the warning came too late, for with a _poof_ and a cloud of cartoony-looking smoke, the Phantom Thieves who had entered the room found themselves suddenly much shorter and fuzzier.

“Wait, what the shit!? W-We’re… mice!?” Skull exclaimed, recoiling in shock.

“Looks like Mona hasn’t changed all that much, though,” Akira said. And it was true—Mona had gotten a bit smaller, and his fur color changed to a dull grey rather than its usual black-and-white, but a rodent was a rodent, after all.

“Hmm… I suppose you’ll have to protect the rest of us while we’re in this state, then.”

“Hey, don’t just shove all the responsibility on me!” Mona squeaked. “And besides, even though I’m more used to this form than you all, I get the feeling I won’t be able to summon my Persona while we’re under the effects of this statue, so it’s not like I can actually battle…”


End file.
